Speedometer-drive for automobiles.



E. R. BEAVER.

SPEEDOMETER DRIVE FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLIUATION FILED 1'23. 8, 1911.

1,035,169. Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

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; burrito s'rar ngs ea rnnr OFFICE -El\dIL R. BEAVER, 0F RICHMOND,INDIANA.

SPEEDOMETER -DRIVE FDR AUTOMOBILES.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

Application filed February 8, 1911. serial No. 607,267.

To all whom "it may concern Be it known that 1, Earn. R. Denver, acitizen of the United States, .residing at Richmond, in the, county ofWayne and State of Indiana, have invented certain new ani usefulImprovements in Speedometer- Drives for Automobiles; and I'do herebydeclare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved speedometer drivefor driving a speedometer from one of the front or steering wheels of anautomobile and, to this end, the invention consists of the novel devicesand combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in theclaims.

Speedometers, as is well known, are, when applied to automobiles,customarily driven from the front wheels thereof, which wheels arejournaled on the spindle of pivotally mounted steeringknuckles. This hasbeen accon'iplishcd in many different ways, but usually by; the use of aflexible shaftand al- I ways, so far as I am aware, by the use of gearsthat are exposed to'mud, dirt and other destructive elements.

In accordance with my invention, the speedometer is driven from thefront or steering wheel by, a driving mechanism which includes a drivingshaft extended through and journaled in the spindle of the steering.knuckle. The connection between the outer end of this shaft and the hubof the wheel is preferably madeby connecting .in various different wayson the knuckle. The said dr ven shaft, in some instances,

may be-directly' c nnected to the speedometer through a flexible shaft,but in other instances, this is accomplished throughcooperating'flintermediate gears and shafts.

inall instances, however, the gears which "connect the several shafts ofthespeedometer In the accompanying drawings, which several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is aillustrate several forms of theinvention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the view infront elevation, with some parts broken away and some parts sectioned,showing the lmproved-speedometer drive applied to the knuckle of anautomobile front axle; and Fig. 2 is a detail view of certain of theparts shown in Fig. 1, with the'sections of-the upper gear caseseparated on the line m m of Fig. 1, and also showing dia grammaticallythe connected speedometer.

A steering knuckle 1 has an upright arm or trunnion 2 journaled in asocket 3 formed in the end of the front axle 4.. The hub 5 only of thecooperating frontor steering wheel is shown, and this is journaled inthe customary way on the spindle or horizontal. ,arm of t e steeringknuckle 1.

The hub 5 is shown as provided with the customary detachable cap 6 atits outer end. In the arrangement of the speedometer drive shown inFigs. 1 and' 2, the spindle or horizontal arm of the steering knuckle isbored out to form an axial seat for the so-called driving shaft 7, andthe trunnion or vertical arm of said knuckle is bored out to form anaxial seat for the so-called upright driven shaft 8. The hub of theknuckle 1 has an en larged recess 9 to afford a space for intermeshingmiter gears 10 secured one to the driving shaft 'lfland one to thedriven shaft 8. The lower end of the reccss-9 is normally closed by athreaded plug 11 which, as shown, also affords a bearing for the lowerend of the shaft 8. The outer end of the driving shaft 7 is providedwith a radially projecting arm 12 that is engaged by a lug 13 on the hubcap 6, so that the said shaft 7 will be caused to rotate with the wheelhub 5. The upper end of the driven shaft 8, as shown, is provided with abevel gears 14 that meshes with a bevel pinion 15 of a.

short shaft 16. As shown, the gears 14 and 15 work within a: gear casemade up of sections 17 and 18, the former of which is secured to theaxle 4 by a bracket- 19. The shaft 16 is journaled in a bearing on themember 17.

In Fig. 2, a speedometer is indicated as an entirety by the numeral 20and, for illustrative purposes, this speedometer is shown as connectedto the shaft 16 by a flexible shaft 21.

it is important to note that the transmission gears 14 and 15 arelocated within, and in part to said knuckle and in part to said theirshafts are journaled in the gear case l718, and that the latter issecured to the axle 4 so that it par-takes of the movements of the axle.Also, it will be noted, that the gear shaft 16, to which the flexibleshaft 21 is attached, except in its rotary movement, also partakes ofthe movements of the axle a. This is a highly desirable constructionbecause the oscillatory movements of the steering knuckle does not kinkor bend the flexible shaft or other terminating connection between thesaid gear 15 and the speedometer.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with an axle, a steering knuckle pivoted thereto, anda wheel hub journaled on the spindle of said knuckle, of a speedometerdrive comprising a rotary shaft carried by and partaking of all of themovements of said axle, but with the said knuckle free for pivotalmovements independently of movements of said axle and rdtary shaft,whereby the said shaft is free from the pivotal movements of saidknuckle.

2. The combination with an axle, a steering knuckle pivoted thereto anda wheel hub journaled on the spindle of said knuckle, of a swivel actingspeedometer drive applied axle, and comprising a rotary shaft carried byand partaking of the movements of said axle, but with the said knucklefree for pivotal movements independently of movements of said axle androtary shaft, where by the said rotary shaft is free from the pivotalmovements of said knuckle.

8. In a speedometer drive, the combination with an axle, a steeringknuckle pivoted thereto, and a wheel hub journaled on the spindle ofsaid knuckle, of a speedometer, and a speedometer drive, comprising ahorizontal shaft extended through the spindle of said knuckle andconnected to said wheel hub, a vertical shaft journaled in the body ofsaid knuckle, gears connecting said shafts, a shaft bearing secured inrespect. to said axle and partaking of all. of the movements thereof, athird shaft journaled in said bearing, and a flexible shaft connectingsaid third shaft to said speedometer.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EMIL R. DRAVER.

- \Vitnesses:

E. V. DICKINSON, T. J. FERGUSON.

